Train pipe connecter



' May 7, 1935. F. N. BARD TRAIN PIPE CONNECTER Original Filed Nov. 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 7, 1935. F N, BARE 2,000,157

- TRAIN PIPE CONNECTER Patenteel May 7, 1935 TRAIN PIPE CONNECTER Francis N. Bard, Highland Ill., assigner to, Barco Manufacturing C6., Chicago, Ill., a. cofporation of Illinoisl continuation f pplication serial' No. 143,434,

November 15, 1926.V lThis,` application August` ze,1932,seria1No-fcsom7' Y No. 148,434, led November 15, 1926, relates .tou train pipe connecters, and more .particularlyto means in connection witha flexible metallic train pipe connecter for yieldingly supporting,

its lower endV in a non-depending position. Y

When the steam line` connectors of adjacent railway passenger cars are coupled together,

their lower ends are maintained at a proper. elevation above thetrack by their coupling at tachment with one another, but when un-V coupled their lower ends,unlessotherwise supported would drop and be liable to strike cross rails or other obstructions along the track.- It

is therefore necessary to provide means to hold up the `lower ends ci the connectors when unf coupled. Moreover it is desirable to yieldingly,

support the lower ends in operative position when coupled, in order to relieve the coupling connections of unnecessary strain due to the weight ofy the coupler heads andthe articulated lower parts of the connectors which carry thev coupler heads. I. y

An .object of thepresent invention is to pro-k vide a connecter with means which will yieldingly holdits lower end when uncoupled in approximately the same horizontallyY disposed attitudein-Which itis supported whencoupled with another connectenrbut which nevertheless will allow flexing of the connecter inservice without increased stressing of. the yielding. sup'- portingv means, thus preventing resistance to flexing by such means and avoiding any undue pulls on thelower part of the connecter that Wouldftendl to cause separation of the coupling heads ofthe two connecters. k l

The nature ofthe invention will be. understood by reference to the accompanying` draw-` ings, showing an illustrative embodiment ofthe invention applied to a connecter of one' prac"- ticable type. f

In said" drawings:

Fig. l shows two coupled connectersyone in section and the other in side elevation;

Fig; 2 is a sectionalview ofoneof the connecters flexed in' one direction; andY Fig. 3 isa'similar View showing said connecter flexed in `the opposite direction.

AsA represented f in y Fig. 2, two connectors consisting of Ailexible metallic` pipe .structures are attached-to andidepend.y from the end. valves l of the steam pipes :fof 1 adi acent railway.l passenger cars,. and have.' their lower ends coupled together :by the:` mating couplingL-heads I2.

(Cl. 285-4) Y, These `connectors Vinclude pendent intermediate rigid sections 5 so articulated with the upper sections from which they hang andv withV the lower sections which carry theI coupler heads as to permit the connectors',V to flexv asl required by the relative motions betweenthe car endsh to which they are attached; it being Aunderstood that as the upperattached endsV of the connecters approach or recede from one anothenfdue tovsuchrelative car motions, the intermediate sections 'or the two connectors will swing in op?V posite directions, while the lower coupledsec-y tions will always be Amaintained substantially parallel with the track. The connecters should be substantially universally exible to com pensate for the variousrelative movementsbef tween the car ends, and,` inth-is instance such flexing capacity is obtainedbythe employment of ,connecters of the ball-jointed type. Y

aIn Vthe specific construction; shownM in--theI drawings,4 the upper section of each' connecter is represented by a socket member' shaving a; threadedl nipple 2l by which saidmembe'r maybe attached'ir'ra-` pendent position to the end' valve' orother appropriate end fitting'v I of a' ca`r train pipe'.y Iff the nature oi the ttingf requir'eE-the nipple v2 may` be angula-rly disposedrelative to ,they body or"` thev socket" member', it' being' de'- sirable that-the axisoflthe socketportion of the member should be verticaily"disposed; Within' the socletfrneinber 3f is a' ball-member" 4 'secured oni the upper endof tlief intermediate' swingingsection El of thefconncter. Said'ball-nienibei is seated` in'C akgasketj orV bearing: 65 heiving an interiorly sphericalv surface to'A fit the" exteio'r spherical surface of thel ball member. 'Ihebealrn` mgring s is fitted winiitire socket member andt secur'd thereto" Aby thev glandA 'l' which" is screwed on the'lowei end'ofthe"socket'y member; andl Campanie vring tetwee'ng the gane andinia lower endfcirsaidniernber. A spring 8 holdstheL ball member seatedi Said intermediatesectini5 of; the connecter is' represented by a' normally vertically disposedV pipe on the" low44 end 0I which'i's attached an elbow meinberc nstructed to provide the socket member' 9" which" encloss the' balljniember l0" lon' the" inner .'en'd" Aoff the horizontally disposed' pipell y,which carries" the Coupling-head' 12ans' represerits'v yuit lwrsction of the connecter. Said ball Iiienb'erA` l, 1"; seated' and "spring h'eld a be'a'r'ir'i""ring"l lf3 secured? byl gland Il, the lowerball" joiit fbe of the same .constructionA as th'e upperfone Ab t' arrangedV with itsi centeij on a longitidnal gains of appropriate strength to support the lower..

section when free of coupling attachment with another connecter in a horizontally Ydisposed position, preferably in thesame parallel relaV tion to the track in which it is maintained'in service by coupling attachment 'with' the other` connecter. Such spring means is shown as a coiled retractile spring ISarran'ged in front of the pendent intermediate' section-5 of thereon-fu necter and ilexibly connected by the link I6 to= an upper support lI and by the link A`-I8 to an ear I9 on the lower pipe section II. The arrangement is such as tov allow flexing of the con-.- necter in service without increasing the tension of the spring. This is because the line connecting the points 24 and 25 of attachment of the links to the upper support and the lower section is parallel with and of the same length as the line connecting the ball joint centers 22 and 23, the points 24 and 25 being equidistant from the centers of the balls. This makes a complete parallelogram 22, 24, 25, 23. castings 3 of the two connecters are attached to end valves on carsto be joined together in the usual manner. These cars run on steel rails and carry the end valves and upper -end castings of the connecters at a constant elevation above the track. As the upper end castings of the two coupled connecters .move-relatively to each other responding to movements of the cars, the connecters will flex VVat the ball joints but the lower horizontal sections I I will always remainlparallel' with the track, so that the lineV 23, 25 will move parallel .with the line 22,24.` Thus in .whatever position theparallelogram 22, 24, 25, 23 is placed by the flexing of theconnecter, the sides of the parallelogram will .remain 1 the same and inV parallelism, and thererwill be nogreater strain on the flexible connectionl8, I5, I6 in one position than in another, except as may be due to. inaccuracies or irregularitiesrin track structure which may be disregarded. Because, of: this function of the parallelogram and the freedom from increased tension on thevexible connection I 8, I5, I6 in various positions, there is no increased up-pull; on the horizontal membersv II whichv would tend to separate the coupler heads I2. v y

If the flexible connectionv I 8, I5, I6 were not parallel with the line of centers 22 and 23, then, assuming the connection to be taut or without slack in the mid-position of the connecter, it is obvious that it wouldkbeV objectionably stressed in the iiexing of the connecter from one extreme position to another. For example, if the flexible Yconnection I8, I5, `Iii were arranged at an inclination such that' its lower point 25 were at a greater distance from the center 23V than the distance between 22 and 24, then, assuming the use of a spring strong enough to support the Y lower section horizontally inthe position of the connecterishown in Fig. 2, there would be a material increased tension of the spring in the flexing of the connecter Yto V`or beyond the position shown in. Fig. 3, causing` an objectionable uppull on the lower section and a resistance to the ilexing, On the other handwhenthe connecter The upper end isuncoupled and the pendent section 5 moves backward from the vertical by reason of the weight of the forwardly projecting lower member II and coupling head carried thereby, the flexible connection I8, I5, I 6 if arranged as last stated would allow the lower member II to assume a downwardly declined position instead of a position approximately similar to that in which it is maintained in operative service. Both of these objections are obviated by the parallelogram arrangement hereinbeiore explainedavoiding any material additional stressing of the spring in service and causing the lowern'iember II when freed from another connecter to assume substantially the same horizontalattitude in which it is maintained under service conditions, and therefore under all conditions maintaining the coupler end of the connection'at -a proper elevation above the track.

The upper support II for the upper attaching point 24 of the hold-up device or ilexible connection I8, I5, I6 is represented as an arm projecting from'the upper casting 3 of the connecter forwardly of the upper ball joint, said arm being bracketed to the upper casting 3 by the strap clamp fastened by the bolt 2|.

It will beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown but may be variously applied to various different connecters.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A train pipe connecter comprising a flexible metallic conduit structure adapted to be suspended from the end valve of a railway car and resilient supporting means arranged to hold the horizontal member in its normal operating position when not attached to the corresponding coupler head of an adjoining car, said resilient supporting means being flexibly attached at its upper end to a support which does not move relatively to the car and at its lower end to the horizontal member in such a manner that the Vpoints of support are equidistant from centers of rotation between articulated parts of the flexible connecter and said centers and points of support are the vertices of a parallelogram by Virtue of which the resilient supporting means will hold the horizontal member in its normal position when the connecter isnot in service and will allow flexing or the connecter in service without increased tension on the resilient supporting means in any position of the connecter.

2. A train pipe connecter adapted to be suspended from the end valve of a railway car, having an intermediate section and joints by which said intermediate section is articulated with the upperand lower sections to permit swinging of the intermediate section relative to the other two, and resilient supporting means arranged to hold the intermediate section in a position approximately parallel with that in which it is maintained when the connecter is lcoupled with the companion connecter of another car, said resilient supporting means being flexibly connected at its upper end with a support in xed relation to the center of the upper joint and at its -lower end to the lower section in such a manner that-the points of connection are equidistant from the centers of said joints and the saidvcenters and points are the verticesV of a parallelogram, whereby the connecter when coupled with that of an adjoining car can flex without increasing the tension on said resilient supporting means.

3. A train pipe connecter comprising a exible metallic conduit structure adapted to be suspended from the end Valve of a railway car and to be coupled with the corresponding connecter of an adjoining. car, said structure including an intermediate section swingable in relation to the upper and lower sections, and means operative to hold the lower section in a non-depending position when it is unsupported by coupling attachment with another connecter, said means comprising a ldevice pivotally connected with the upper and lower sections at points equidistant from theV centers of the joints on which the intermediate section swings relative to the upper and lower sections and including a spring adapted to be stressed by movement of the lower section toward a depending position, said device being parallel with and normally of the same lengthbetween the centers of its pivotal connections as the lines connecting the centers of said joints so that the centers of said joints and centers of said pivotal connections are the vertices of a parallelogram, whereby the connecter when coupled with that of an adjoining car can ex without increasing the tension of said spring.

4. A flexible connection for use between coupled vehicles including, in vcombination with vertically spaced conduits to be connected, a section of piping extended betweenrthe conduits, a flexible joint device interconnecting the upper end of said piping and the upper conduit, a second fflexible joint device interconnecting the lower end of said piping and the lower conduit, each of said joint devices providingrfor relative rotative movement between the piping section and the said conduits, and a spring supporting mechanism for lower flexible connection parts, said mechanism including means for hanging the spring, at its ends, at points to one side of the joint devices, the said points forming, with a point in each of said devices, a parallelogram. Y

FRANCIS N. BARD. 

